‘Cabaret’ – Written by John Kander (Lyrics); Fred Ebb (Music) and Joe Masteroff (Book). Ben Hart and Brandon James (Co- Directors), Jason Faria and Alyssa Dumas (Choreographers), Suzanne Jones (Music Director), Kelly Gibson (Lighting Design), Andrew Cameron (Sound Design), DW (Costume Design), Elise O’Connell (Properties). Through September 5 at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre, Portsmouth, NH.
By Linda Chin
In a beautiful seaport city called Portsmouth, New Hampshire in a country called America there is a wonderful Theatre…and though this past year has felt like the end of the world, artists and audiences have continued to safely gather there and connect with each other. One of the few theatres in New England performing for in-person (and live-streamed) audiences in 2021, Seacoast Rep closes its summer block with the audience-favorite, the Tony Award-winning musical Cabaret.
Cabaret is best known for its lush (and lascivious) production numbers, and with the direction of Ben Hart and Brandon James and the music direction of Suzanne Jones (and an 8-piece orchestra), the talented cast delivers crisp vocals, inventive staging and sustains high energy from the opening “Willkommen”through the full company’s “Finale”. Jason Faria (Emcee) and Alyssa Dumas (Sally Bowles) are true triple threat performers who not only shine in their leading roles but raise the bar for the entire ensemble.
While the flamboyant production numbers (“Don’t Tell Mama”, “Mein Herr”, “Money”) were well-executed and enjoyable, I felt like a detached observer. On the other hand, the scenes and songs in the ‘interstitial’ space between production numbers, with the parallel subplots of star-crossed relationships leapt right into my heart. Sally and American Journalist Cliff Bradshaw’s (Harry Pont) rendition of “Perfectly Marvelous” was just that. The duet “It Couldn’t Please Me More”, with Herr Schultz (David Allyn)declaring his love forboarding house proprietress Fraulein Schneider (Meryl Galaid) by presenting her with an extravagant gift (a pineapple) was charming. Ernst Ludwig (Tobin Moss) and Fraulein Kost (Jennifer Sue Rockwell)’s “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” was chilling and Kit Kat Boy Bobby (Christopher Mitchell) and Cliff’s “Why Should I Wake Up”was dreamy. And in “Two Ladies”, Faria, Mitchell and Hadley Withington (Helga) make a terrific threesome.
It is incredibly challenging to mount a production that audiences have preset expectations for, and/or can’t help but compare to other versions. Having seen Cabaret many timesin my musical theatre lifetime – including on Broadway, the recent ‘Alan Cumming and Emma Stone’ revival at Studio 54, and at professional, educational and community theatres – my quibbles with Seacoast’s version relate more to my perspective that musical theatre be seamless in its storytelling than to being a purist who is not open to new interpretations. The Emcee and Sally Bowles’ facial makeup was so heavily applied that it detracted from their natural expressions and beauty (and making it seem that Sally’s eyes were literally shut to what was going on in the world around her). The side performances that accompanied several of the show’s stirring ballads were nicely executed, but also diluted one’s focus.
The directors also chose to delve more deeply into depictions of anti-Semitism and homophobia during this terrorizing period in world history, with more stage time devoted to Herr Schultz’ Jewish identity (including the song “Meeskite”), a young boy (Sean Armstrong Verre) playing the Emcee’s apprentice, Cliff and Bobby’s unrequited love affair, and police brutality towards homosexuals, than in other versions. These choices demonstrate Seacoast’s commitment to producing theatre that is educational as well as entertaining and contributed to the show’s rather lengthy run time of 3 hours, but as with Dumas’ amazing rendition of “Cabaret” (where she held a note for what seemed like 15 minutes) were welcome additions.
Shout-outs to Hart and James, who on top of directing this ambitious production are also the organization’s co-artistic directors; maintaining artistic quality, financial stability, safety, and community support in these unprecedented times is no small feat. In Seacoast’s last summer production (Pippin) there was magic to do, and they did it; in Cabaret, in the words of Herr Schultz, they filled the entire theatre with pineapples. You can go hear the music play through September 5. For tickets and information, go to: https://seacoastrep.org/
